Kent Monkman,
Compositional Study for « tâpwêwin (Truth), » 2025

Kent Monkman (b. 1965) is a leading Cree visual artist from Fisher River Cree Nation in Treaty 5 Territory, Manitoba, and is currently based in Toronto. Compositional Study for « tâpwêwin (Truth), » 2025, is part of Monkman’s new Knowledge Keeper series, a body of work examining the history and enduring impact of Canada’s residential school system. Drawing inspiration from Jean-François Millet’s The Gleaners, 1857, Monkman reimagines the scene with three Indigenous boys, wearing residential school uniforms, at work in a field at dusk. The flatness of the prairie-like landscape evokes Monkman’s home territory of Manitoba, while the watchful pose of one boy suggests a lingering threat just beyond the frame.  

In contrast to Monkman’s well-known satirical paintings featuring Miss Chief Eagle Testickle and often including irreverent, homoerotic elements, this work adopts a tender, contemplative tone, focusing on the resilience and promise embodied in its young subjects despite the hardship imposed on them. 

The work is rich in Indigenous cultural references: faint Thunderbirds emerge in the clouds, bison are subtly suggested in distant stands of trees, and the word “tâpwêwin” (Cree for “truth”) is inscribed in syllabics in the soil by one of the boys. By centring the lives and agency of Indigenous children, Compositional Study for « tâpwêwin (Truth) » offers both a record of injustice and a vision of cultural resilience. 

This work was acquired for the McMichael through the generous support of Rosamond Ivey.